Maxalt:
Brainwashed? You must be friggin' joking mate! I am opening my eyes to all that is around me and the fact that I have to politely send an email to the Superintendants (NOT some office girls, I would never be that arrogant) means that I am simply following a protocol. Do I agree or disagree? Doesn't matter. To me it is simply something that has to be done and when I politely inform them where I will be, the answer has alwasy been 'Approved, enjoy your trip!'
As for having no say, well may I humbly suggest that you start to learn how to ask for things? Ranting and raving, sulking and whining never worked when I was a kid, why should it work now? If you are genuinely unhappy where you are, have you actually expressed your discontent with your senior management?
Uplink:
Agree with your entire post. I also did not vote for the block and in conversations with others that voted for it, neither would they if they had known the full facts and exactly how the reserve blocks would be implemented. But then as my Dad always said, 'It doesn't matter who you vote for Son, the government always get in!'
Brix:
There are hard rules and soft rules. I believe that lowering the gear before landing to be a hard rule. Having a chat with your missus whilst the rest of J-class are having a nap would be in defiance of a soft rule. At the end of the day, who cares? Go and say hello, but as Uplink said, make sure she's not sitting next to your girlfriend!
Believe:
Good points. The fact that the contract has changed is not good at all, but what can be done about it? I am certainly not brainwashed, but I do like the analogy with easy vs. hard time! I guess that I prefer the easier life and not getting worried about things that I cannot influence or change has been the greatest discovery of all for me.
Trimotor:
Yes, forgot about that! Poor old Douglas was legless due to an immature act of foolishness but then reverred as a hero later! Irony at its best.